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Our screwdriver took three years [video]

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Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#191
post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can buy things from other countries and have it shipped here. But yes, Amazon has Wera products.

Maybe, could be a chinese knock off brand posing as Wera, you'll never know until it's shipped. edit: looks like Wera tools specifically are sold by a bunch of different people on Amazon, NEMobile, and BCFasteners are a couple that I've seen, so really no idea what you're getting.

Eh, Amazon was just an easy example.

Grainger stocks Wera in the US

https://www.grainger.com/category/tools?brandName=WERA&filte...

Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#192
post #99

For the same price you could get a Wera screwdriver, small screwdrivers and a bottle opener. https://products.wera.de/en/kraftform_kompakt_kraftform_komp... https://products.wera.de/en/screwdrivers_series_kraftform_mi... https://products.wera.de/en/tools_for_bicycles_and_e-bikes_f...

I have the Wera ratcheting driver, and I don't really like it that much. The shaft is pretty wobbly from the handle, and there's a ton of slop when you have it locked and not ratcheting.

Surprisingly even a $16 Doyle driver from Harbor Freight has less slop in its ratcheting mechanism. Overall the Wera feels very nice but its ratchet isn't great.

Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#193

There's a cheap plastic handle design fairly common on old screwdrivers and i've seen it as a wooden handle on chisels too. I didn't know it's name until recently - the "London Pattern Handle". These are peak handle design IMO. It lets you hold it in a few different ways, with your fingertips for work where you need to accurately feel what the tip is doing. With the palm of your hand when you need to apply lots of to…

It's hard to image improving on that handle design. It's even good with the hard, slick plastic handles of my old cheap Craftsman screwdrivers. I hate handles where I have to figure out and copy how the designer expected me to grip it. I have no idea how my hand grips my Craftsman screwdrivers, and I don't care. The handle has a bunch of ridges, our hands have a bunch of bumps and ridges, just grab at any angle or grip you want, and the bumps and ridges find a way to catch on each other. The one aspect that could be improved is that the older ones I have are from the 1970s and probably wouldn't work well for people with larger hands.

Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#194
post #140

There's a reason that ratchets all have the control turn the opposite way: so that if it rubs against something as you operate it, it won't reverse accidentally. Linus broke the convention just because he wanted to… it's just as bad as that awful "natural scrolling" that plagues laptops these days.

This makes a lot of sense.

Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#195
And it has a terrible warranty.

     THE LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER:

     Bits, as they are considered a consumable item;
     Tools which have been subject to abuse, misuse, negligence, or improper storage;
     Tools which have been used improperly e.g. using the screwdriver as a pry bar or hammer;
     Tools which have been altered in any way;
     Normal wear and tear (including the breakdown of materials over time);
     Cosmetic damage (including scratches or changes in the finish of the plastic handle);
     Products purchased from unauthorized dealers
Buy Craftsman. Craftsman's Full Lifetime Warranty states anyone can take the screwdriver to the hardware store and take home a new one.

https://www.craftsman.com/support/warranty

https://imgur.com/gallery/VUjZm

Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#196

Is there a written warranty? They faced a lot of criticism for their backpack which didn't and the response from Linus was akin to "just trust me bro," which, when called out on, they made a t-shirt out of. Left me thinking that response was in very poor taste, making fun of your own customers' hesitations.

Yes, on their product page it has a "LTT Screwdriver Limited Lifetime Warranty" that you can click to expand and read.

Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the Wera ratcheting driver, and I don't really like it that much. The shaft is pretty wobbly from the handle, and there's a ton of slop when you have it locked and not ratcheting.

Surprisingly even a $16 Doyle driver from Harbor Freight has less slop in its ratcheting mechanism. Overall the Wera feels very nice but its ratchet isn't great.

I'm also wary of tools with any kind of rubber overmolded handles. That rubber is going to break down after about 10 years, it will be sticky and you'll smell the butyric acid vomit smell. I've remember seeing a video of a 15 year old Wera driver with that issue.

Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#198
post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Seems like the juicero for screwdrivers... over-engineered tool that without the "LTT" branding could probably sink in the stores. I haven't used one so I don't know how durable they are, but I got the opposite impression. The juicero served no purpose. If you don't need a multi-purpose screwdriver that's one thing, but it does have plenty of use-cases and there are a lot of competitors which they showed so they ar…

>I'd say their attempt is more akin to Snap-on with how much energy they seemed to focus on ergonomics and UX, especially the ratcheting mechanism. Snap On builds "fine" tools and sells them for premium prices because their brand has a lot of mind share among the customers. Kitchenaid does the same thing. These people don't a long established brand to power their money printer so they instead turn to marketing. If yo…

My first job as a cycle mechanic was great because we had Snap On for everything and the Snap On van would pop by regularly to keep us with everything needed.

We actually sold fancy bike tools including Park, which is the allegedly professional brand in cycling.

I enjoyed the flex of being able to work extremely fast with those extremely shiny tools. Hence, for irrational reasons I see Snap On as a premium brand to not be questioned, even if all evidence is contrary.

Intel is like that for me, I have heard AMD are better but I cling onto this notion that Intel are always better for floating point and, even though I have no evidence of that, my mind is made up. I will take that Intel CPU and I don't care if it is slower, takes twice the electricity and costs more.

With Snap On I do not know how well their business was able to pivot to the web where you can get whatever tool you want from the jungle store, next day. The Snap On van brought excellence to our door with every specialist tool you could wish for. Price didn't matter because you would need to drive hours to find a stockist of lesser brands.

My personal favourite screwdriver to 'flex' is my Silicon Graphics screwdriver. We have bonded and I am not going to upgrade to some YouTuber's screwdriver.

Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#199

And it has a terrible warranty. THE LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER: Bits, as they are considered a consumable item; Tools which have been subject to abuse, misuse, negligence, or improper storage; Tools which have been used improperly e.g. using the screwdriver as a pry bar or hammer; Tools which have been altered in any way; Normal wear and tear (including the breakdown of materials over time); Cosmetic da…

Or you can just buy a quality tool and not waste your time.

Re: Our screwdriver took three years [video]

#200
post #146

Aside from Wera and Wiha, would be interesting if someone did a comparison with a PB Swiss. More expensive and harder to get in US, but should be very high quality: https://www.amazon.com/PB-Swiss-Tools-8510R-30-Twister/dp/B0...

I will be testing that driver specifically, just waiting for the LTT driver to ship. Hopefully Project Farm has one on hand too. The PB Swiss has the best ratchet feel by far, though it's a little tight—that's one thing Linus was adamant about on theirs, making it just loose enough that you can easily ratchet the blade with your fingers to tighten without rotating the entire driver.
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